LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As the United Auto Workers (UAW) enter their sixth week on strike, and their second week on the picket lines at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP), there is optimism a tentative agreement will be reached soon.
"I hope we're nearing the end; it sounds like we're really close," Louisville UAW chapter president Todd Dunn told WHAS11 on Monday.
Dunn said Ford Motor Company has 'come back to the table,' adding that negotiations between union workers and Ford are moving in the right direction.
It comes as thousands of KTP employees remain on strike. But Dunn says layoffs are no longer expected at the Louisville Assembly Plant (LAP) -- at least for now -- despite initial projections that shutting down operations would be imminent.
Dunn says because nonunion, salaried employees have kept KTP's stamping facility running, LAP has still been able to receive the parts needed to continue working.
"Right now, they're holding steady," he said. "They've been able to manage to keep up."
It comes as local businesses like auto repair shops feel increased strain with every week the strike persists.
Bluegrass Collision Center in Louisville says it's already increasing lead times for customers as they await certain parts from dealerships, which are also at the mercy of production at assembly plants across the country.
Derek McAllister, who handles estimates for Bluegrass Collision, said it's truly a domino effect.
"Anywhere that's affected by the strike is affecting our business," McAllister told WHAS11 on Monday.
McAllister said their technicians are caught in the waiting pattern to finish repairs on certain models, including Ford vehicles, without a clear timeline from suppliers -- who are also left in limbo.
"They say, 'Good luck. We don't know when we're going to get these parts," McAllister said, describing some of the phone conversations. "[Then] I say, 'Can you give me a date?' He says, 'Can you tell me when the strike will be over?'"
Bluegrass Collision said it normally deals directly with dealerships for parts, and with many of them on hold, the center is left with two options: Seek out third-party vendors, which may not be as high quality, or accept the fact that there will be longer waits for customers.
"When it turns into three weeks, four weeks -- you're just multiplying the phone calls," McAllister said.
The hope for shops like these is to keep the backlog to a minimum in the meantime, and for a deal to get done as soon as possible.
"I'm very optimistic we can get a tentative agreement, and hopefully we can do that as soon as this week," Dunn said.
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